Open/Closed Questions

Open Question

A question where you can get a longer response for an answer.  An example of this would be ''What was your favourite subject at school and why?'' Open questions are useful because they give a more detailed response and you can get varied answers. A disadvantage of an open question is that one could easy go off topic.



In the interview on the right, Alexa Chung is asked open questions about her new books, how she got her job at Fuse News etc. She gave detailed answers and as a result the audience were able to get an insight into the ''real'' Alexa Chung.


Closed Questions

A closed question is a question where you will only get a short and concise answer. An example of this would be 'What's your favourite colour?' . The advantage of closed questions is that they are very direct and straightforward. They're also measurable and can easily be put into a graph. A disadvantage of closed questions is that you can only get a short answer.

In the interview with Fabrizio Moretti (right) , The interviewer asks whether he's happy that his band is touring in Australia, to which he replies saying yes he is.